Nintendo's Flubbed Release Schedule

NOA's new release schedule is missing as many as 10 games that third-party developers say will arrive in Q1 and Q2, 1997

By IGN Staff

Despite prior knowledge of as many as 10 additional games arriving in the first half of 1997, Nintendo of America released Friday an incomplete list of games to appear from now until June.

NOA's list includes some old and some new ship dates for these games: Mario Kart 64 (today, February 10), Blast Corps (March 24), Star Fox 64 (June 23), the newly renamed Force Pak (a vibrating accessory which will be available on June 23, and compatible with Blast Corps and Star Fox 64), NBA Hangtime (out since January 15), Doom 64 (scheduled vaguely as March), Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (March 4), Mission Impossible (obscurely scheduled as TBA), and Hexen (scheduled simply as summer, but GTI says June).

The list doesn't include previously scheduled games like Kirby's Air Ride, which is believed to be under severe re-development, GoldenEye, and a slew of other titles.

With a wide range of unhappy gamers, skeptical stock analysts, and eager competitors pointing to Nintendo's clear lack of games -- not to mention the company's own proud, hypocritical "quality over quantity" marketing scheme -- it makes little sense for Nintendo to be as incomplete, confused, and patchy regarding its upcoming titles.

As most gamers know by now, Nintendo Co. Ltd. develops all of NOA's first-party titles in Japan, and the Kyoto-based gaming company is extremely secretive regarding the release of its games, much to the chagrin of the gaming press, and ironically, NOA, which is oftentimes the last to know when its own games will arrive. Sources at Nintendo explained that despite the release list of the confirmed games (listed above), changes may still be made, and games could be deleted or added to the list on any given day.

N64.com spoke with as many as five third-party developers who will publish games by June of this year, yet who weren't included on the first-half production schedule. When asked to respond, a Nintendo source said, "Many companies simply didn't respond in time for the release to be sent, and just as many weren't sure whether whether or not their games would come out on time." However, up to nine games planned for first half 1997 have either been delayed or simply been lost in the cracks of Nintendo's busy production schedule.

N64.com has spoken with a group of third parties which claim their games will arrive before or by June 1997. This list includes Electronic Arts' FIFA Soccer '97 (March/April), Vic Tokai's Dark Rift (March/April), Interplay's Clay Fighter 63 1/3 (June), Midway's War Gods (June/July), and Titus's Lamborghini 64 (Q2).

Other games, which have been mysteriously dropped from NOA's own first-party product schedule include those mentioned above (Kirby's Air Ride and GoldenEye, which was recently given a cover on Nintendo Power and was planned for March), plus Body Harvest, Body Count, and Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball (which was scheduled for spring '97). Other third-party developers whose games seem to simply be in limbo or have been delayed are Cu-On-Pa (TBA), Dead Ahead (TBA), Freak Boy (Q4), H20's Tetrisphere (TBA), and others.

The problem plaguing many companies, a source close tp Nintendo said, is that developers are still getting to grips with the complex development system, and that every company wants to make sure their game is complete before it ships. This, however, is the same tune companies have been singing since the games started slipping last October, when as many as five to 10 games slipped off the Q4 1996 list. In fact, NOA Chairman Howard Lincoln's defense for Nintendo 64's delay last year harmonizes beautifully with this same sentiment -- waiting to make sure the quality is there -- but the end results have ranged in quality, with the painful Cruis'n USA giving lie to his argument the most.

In some cases, the delays have greatly improved the games, like in Acclaim's case, with Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. But in other cases, like Midway's NBA Hangtime, it is believed the game may not have been much different if it had arrived when it was originally scheduled in December 1996. Another reason for the delay: Nintendo's own in-house quality assurance group often looks at a developer's game and sends it back for more tuning, bug-testing, additions, and in some cases, sent back for full re-development, like in the case of Buggie Boogie.

In the end, whatever the release schedule says, we'd rather wait a month or two to get a good game rather than getting something that was rushed to market and is flawed. What do you think? Would you rather wait to get a (possibly) better game, or just have everything ship on time. Let us know, we'll print a selection of the responses later this week.